Deadline Date: June 30, 2026
The Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program supports agricultural producers and organizations in adopting on-farm land use and management practices that strengthen environmental resiliency and increase ecological goods and services across agricultural landscapes in Canada.
The program focuses on greenhouse gas reductions, improved soil health, conservation and restoration of critical wildlife habitat, strengthened resilience of agricultural lands, improved water quality, climate change adaptation, carbon storage, flood and drought resilience, reduced tillage practices, pollinator habitat development, buffers and shelterbelts, biodiversity protection, healthy soil and water resources, and sustainable agricultural land management.
The objective of the program is to accelerate the adoption of farming practices that maximize ecological benefits derived from healthy ecosystems. These ecological goods and services include maintaining soil and water quality, supporting biodiversity and wildlife habitat, and improving the agricultural sector’s ability to adapt to climate-related challenges such as floods and droughts.
Eligible applicants include registered farms, Mi’kmaq conducting farming activities in Mi’kmaw communities, and agricultural industry organizations. Eligible lands may include privately owned farmland used for agricultural production, rented agricultural land from private third parties, Crown land under agricultural lease arrangements, and Indigenous lands managed for agricultural production purposes.
The program supports a wide range of agricultural lands including cropland, grazing land, orchards, wetlands, woodlots, and yard sites associated with farm operations. Projects funded under the initiative must provide incremental environmental benefits and contribute to improved ecological goods and services.
Funding is available through multiple streams under the program. Stream 1 supports Reduced Tillage practices with funding of up to $200 per acre or 50 percent cost sharing up to a maximum of $30,000. Additional support of $40 per acre for limestone is also available with equipment purchases up to a maximum of $4,000.
Stream 2 supports Pollinator Habitat projects on cropland with funding of $600 per acre for eligible areas larger than 0.5 acres, up to a maximum of $10,000. Payments are divided into two phases, with initial support for project establishment and additional maintenance funding provided in a later program year.
Stream 3 supports Buffers and Shelterbelts projects on a case-by-case basis. The stream provides 100 percent of establishment costs for creating or widening buffers and covers remote watering systems installed alongside riparian zone projects. Additional compensation is available for riparian land taken out of production, subject to a 10-year conservation agreement.
All payments under the program will generally be made during the 2025–2026 fiscal year unless otherwise specified in the program agreement.
For more information, visit Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture.
